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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, delivering a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors showed the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating Leno counted. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer converted from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.